Fantasy Railroad Paint Schemes

I originally posted these on my old website on June 22, 2008.

These graphics are all fantasy railroad paint schemes: either modern paint schemes on older equipment, classic paint schemes on modern equipment, or paint schemes on things that simply didn't exist. All of these are based on drawings from the Railroad Paint Shop.

Amtrak

Amtrak never actually owned any Alco PAs (nearly all PAs were retired before Amtrak's creation) but if they did, this Phase I paint scheme is the first they would have received.

Even less likely than the Phase I Amtrak PA is this PA painted in the paint scheme of Amtrak's high-speed Acela trains.

Amtrak did have GG1s, and some were painted in their own version of the Phase I scheme, but none received any of the later schemes before they were retired. If any had been given the Phase II stripes, they would've looked something like this.

I think Amtrak's Phase III stripes, shown here, would have looked particularly good on a GG1.

I didn't see any reason to stop creating these increasingly unlikely Amtrak GG1 paint schemes, so here's the Phase IV version.

And, bringing us into the present day is the current Phase V variation.

Had they lasted long enough, the GG1s could have also been given a version of the Acela high-speed scheme; after all, they were electric locomotives used in the Northeast Corridor.

Here's my own idea for a paint scheme for an Amtrak high-speed train, applied to a TGV.

Burlington Northern

By the time the Dash 9-44CW was on the market, Burlington Northern had become BNSF, but if the merger had come later and BN had retained its Cascade Green paint, here's what the Dash 9s might have looked like.

BNSF

If for some reason BNSF had wanted P42 passenger locomotives, here's what they might have looked like in the "Heritage I" paint scheme.

When BNSF used 4449 for their Employee Special, this is how I think they should have had it painted, instead of the plain black with pin stripes.

Denver & Rio Grande Western

Only the Rio Grande Southern had Galloping Geese, but after the RGS disappeared, some of them could have gone to the Rio Grande's narrow gauge lines. If that had happened, this is what I think one would look line in the Silverton scheme.

EMD

There was never such a thing as an SD30, but someone drew one up for the Railroad Paint Shop, so I made a demonstrator for it. This paint scheme matches EMD's GP30 Demonstrator paint scheme.

The GP60T is another drawing at the Railroad Paint Shop that doesn't have a prototype. It's a tunnel motor version of the GP60. Here's an idea for a GP60T demonstrator. I based this paint scheme off of that used on the 1997-era SD90MAC Demonstrator.

Yet another drawing without a prototype from the Railroad Paint Shop is this GP75I. No GPs have been produced by EMD since the 60-series. The paint scheme for this fantasy GP75I is based on the one used for the SD70M demonstrators.

Great Northern

Here's an idea for a Great Northern Dash 9-44CW, based on BNSF's "Heritage I" scheme.

If Great Northern and its original Omaha Orange & Pullman Green paint scheme had lasted long enough to be applied to P42s, here's what the result might have been.

This variation of the Great Northern P42 is more closely related to the BNSF "Heritage I" paint scheme.

Milwaukee Road

If the Milwaukee Road and its electrification lasted long enough, it might have been upgraded with locomotives like the AEM-7, which I have decorated here in the Milwaukee's old passenger scheme.

The EMD GM6C was only built as a single demonstrator, but if the Milwaukee Road's electrification had lasted, they might have had some that looked something like this.

Southern Pacific

Southern Pacific did have SW1500s, many of them in fact, but they came after the Tiger Stripe scheme was replaced by the Gray & Scarlet. Here's what an SW1500 might have looked like in the old scheme.

Southern Pacific also had GP35s, which were delivered in Gray & Scarlet, but here's what one would've looked like in the "Black Widow" scheme.

Another "Black Widow" fantasy is this SD45T-2, which only SP had, but in Gray & Scarlet.

Yet another Southern Pacific "Black Widow" fantasy, this time a U30C.

If Southern Pacific only could have hung on to the "Black Widow" scheme, maybe we could have seen Dash 9s that looked like this.

Unlike the other Southern Pacific fantasies, the SP never actually had any P42s, but I think one would've looked good in the "Daylight" paint scheme.

Union Pacific

Here's a Union Pacific "Overland" version of a GS4. Hopefully Union Pacific doesn't actually get any ideas from this.

Here is an Armour Yellow version of a Union Pacific GS4.

If, for some reason, Union Pacific were to acquire some P42s for passenger or excursion service, this is what they might look like.

Misc. Double-Stack Cars

Here's what I think a double-stack car and containers would've looked like if the Milwaukee Road had lasted long enough to have them.

The Spokane, Portland & Seattle became part of Burlington Northern in 1970, but is the merger hadn't happened, the SP&S might have eventually had double-stack cars and containers that looked like this.

Another double-stack car that never happened due to the BN merger is this Northern Pacific version. NP did have green flat cars, and the containers are based on NP truck trailers.

This Chicago, Burlington & Quincy double-stack car & containers is yet another example of something the BN merger prevented.

Finally, here's the Great Northern version of the double-stack car and containers. The containers are based on Great Northern truck trailers.

Here's a five-car version of the Great Northern double-stack car, with a mix of fantasy containers including Railway Express Agency and Frisco.